158: Take the lead

"My name is Zhao Chong. You should have heard of my moniker — — Calculator of All Life."

"This Space Node has three spots. The fact that you managed to find this place first counts as having two parts of Opportunity. Let's form a team."

Zhao Chong lifted his chin slightly, an indescribable pride in his expression.

Xu Le forcibly held back his laughter.

Calculator of All Life? How much of a clown does one have to be to choose such a name?

He cast "Divine Eye" to look over. Zhao Chong, on the opposite side, seemed to sense something; he had already shifted his position, his face full of shock and suspicion.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything."

Xu Le spread his hands. He had to admit, Zhao Chong was quite sharp and could faintly perceive his probe.

He did not continue to try, feeling that further attempts wouldn't yield information and would only offend the other party.

From the current information, he could tell there were no invisible creatures before him, but rather a Space Node leading to another world.

The Void Creatures that were calling out to him were actually able to pass through a world, which made him pay even more attention.

Seeing that Xu Le did not respond, Zhao Chong couldn't help but snort coldly: "You don't know what's good for you."

If it weren't for the fact that they were both human, he would never have considered teaming up with the other party. To think the other guy didn't come rushing over to hug his thigh in tears—he was blind!

"More and more people will come over these next two days. You had better take care of yourself!"

Zhao Chong left.

Xu Le guessed that this Space Node likely had a specific opening time. The other party was definitely hiding nearby, waiting to emerge when the Space Node opened.

After giving it some thought, he went to a location ten kilometers away and cast the "Space Lock" Skill, creating one small space box after another.

Consuming most of his mana, he made a hundred boxes in a row, nested inside each other from largest to smallest. The innermost box was only the size of a fish eye, while the outermost was the size of a bathtub.

All of them were fixed in place, and he cast "Conceal Aura" to hide the presence of these boxes.

After finishing everything, he clapped his hands and returned to his previous position.

...

Two days later.

A group of eight Void Earth Dragons arrived.

The leading Earth Dragon suddenly stopped and looked toward the front right.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like the Space Node is over there."

"No way. I clearly feel it's straight ahead."

"It's not right. It's definitely over there. It's even had its Aura concealed, but he doesn't know that I am extremely sensitive to Auras. Even if there is only a trace left, I can easily detect it."

"But..."

"Trust me. There are spatial fluctuations, and the Aura was intentionally concealed—it's a classic case of drawing attention to what one tries to hide."

The leading Earth Dragon was very certain and led its Family toward the front right, only to find over twenty Void Creatures gathered there.

Among them were six Void King Crabs, right in the middle. The Void Creatures on the periphery were mostly scarred, clearly having fought several times already.

"Brother King Crab, let's cooperate. One spot for each side. As for the last spot, let's leave it for any new forces. If there aren't any, we'll see who has the greater contribution. How about it?"

"Fine!"

The King Crab had originally been a bit nervous, but hearing the Earth Dragon take the initiative to form an Alliance, it agreed without hesitation.

The spectating Void Creatures hurriedly slipped away, though some of the bolder ones remained.

With a look from the Earth Dragon, its companions, who had rested enough, immediately struck from the shadows.

The battle lasted for two hours. Both the Earth Dragons and the King Crabs were injured, but they finally drove away all the surrounding enemies.

They were exhausted and began to rest, but their eyes were full of brilliance.

"It's about time. How about we try to forcibly break open the Space Node?"

"Good!"

The Earth Dragons and King Crabs gathered all their power and blasted it together.

A black crack appeared, and a cracking sound was heard from the outside as a layer of space was shattered.

"It worked! Again!"

Then came the second layer, the third layer...

They broke through nine layers of space in a row, without the slightest sign of the world on the other side.

Nine is the extreme number; could it be that it's not nine layers, but ninety-nine?

"Let's rest for a while and try to maintain our full state. Otherwise, if others come, they will reap the benefits."

The Earth Dragons and King Crabs reached an agreement and continued resting, when suddenly they sensed spatial tremors and the world shattering not far away.

A thick Aura from the outside world spread over.

"We've been tricked!"

"Who did this!"

They hurriedly rushed to the real Space Node, only to see many low-level Void Creatures already fighting in a melee.

"Get lost!"

The Aura of the Earth Dragons and King Crabs connected, and a majestic pressure bore down on all the Void Creatures.

Some of the weaker Void Creatures fled in succession, not daring to resist.

The Earth Dragons and King Crabs charged into the very center. They saw the Space Node turbulence shaking, and a fist-sized gap had already been torn open.

An Earth Dragon spat a sandstorm over, but as soon as it touched the spatial turbulence, it was torn into fragments.

They had to wait for the hole to get bigger.

"Get lost, we've occupied this place!"

The Earth Dragons and King Crabs exchanged a look and began to clear the area; in case a small-sized Void Creature slipped through, they would be at a total loss.

Another fierce battle ensued, and most of the Void Creatures were driven away, able only to covet from a distance.

"Something's wrong, there's still someone hiding here!"

The Earth Dragon sniffed with its nose, and suddenly its eyes turned scarlet: "Right here. The existence that tricked us earlier is right here."

The King Crab angrily raised its pincers, and the Earth Dragons attacked simultaneously. A terrifying slash struck the Void Realm, and a black crack was torn open, from which Xu Le fell out.

It had to be said that these Void Creatures were quite capable, being able to find even Xu Le, who was using Void Evasion and "Conceal Aura".

"Thief, die!"

Another terrifying attack followed—a combo Skill formed by the coordination of fourteen Void Creatures, its power terrifying to the extreme.

Just as it appeared, it had already torn a gap in the Void Realm.

Fast!

Too fast!

The moment the attack appeared, it had already struck Xu Le; there was simply no chance to dodge.

With a slash, Xu Le's health bar was directly cut by more than half.

"Still not dead? Again!"

The Earth Dragon roared in anger, and together with the other seven Earth Dragons, they combined to form a sandstorm that filled the sky.

The eight-in-one sandstorm was terrifyingly powerful. A few Void Creatures on the periphery were touched by it, their health bars plummeting, and they hurriedly avoided it.

"A mere few Void Creatures, I gave you a handicap, yet you don't know what's good for you. Die!"

Xu Le's angry voice rang out. He directly used "Destiny Link" to share Nine Phoenix's attributes and Skills.

Immediately, he cast "Blazing Blue Lotus"!

A blue flower bud appeared and began to absorb the surrounding fire elements.

Raise Fire to Burn the Heavens!

The raging flames burned, setting a patch of the sky a fiery red.

The color of the blue lotus in the center of the raging fire became increasingly intense. In an instant, it bloomed, and its petals erupted with a terrifying heatwave.

A King Crab blocked at the very front, using its shell as a shield and its two large pincers to share the damage.

It blocked most of the erupting blue flames on the outside.

"Nothing special." Before the thought had even finished, it felt as if its whole body was being roasted, and a faint smell of cooked meat drifted out.

Xu Le wasn't having an easy time either. He took a few more hits, triggering the "Heavens Mandate Regeneration" Skill, and his health bar returned to full.

"Eat a few more of my Skills!"

Earth Fire Flowing Slurry.

Meteor Fire Rain!

Phoenix Dance of the Nine Heavens.

Blazing Shockwave.

The entire vicinity of the Space Node became a paradise of flames.

Seeing that the gap in the Space Node was barely large enough for him to pass through, Xu Le flapped his wings and flew inside.